Between Complicity and Resistance: A Social History of the University Presses in Apartheid South Africa. Elizabeth Henriette le Roux

Transcription

1 Between Complicity and Resistance: A Social History of the University Presses in Apartheid South Africa Elizabeth Henriette le Roux Submitted in fulfilment of the degree Philosophiae Doctor (Publishing) in the Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology at the University of Pretoria Pretoria February 2013 Supervisor: Prof. Archie L. Dick University of Pretoria

2 Abstract University press publishing, while often associated with the promotion of academic freedom, may be situated between the poles of resistance and complicity when considering intellectual responses to apartheid. Yet the history of this form of scholarly publishing has largely been ignored thus far, due to a perception that it had little to tell us about either apartheid or the struggle against it. However, the social history of South Africa s university presses at Wits, Natal and Unisa, in particular provides a new angle for examining academic freedom and knowledge production during the apartheid era. Using a hybrid methodology including archival research, historical bibliography, and political sociology, this study aims to examine the origins, publishing lists and philosophies of the university presses through the lens of a continuum of intellectual responses: ranging from collaboration and complicity, to opposition and dissidence. Results show that, over time, the positions and publishing strategies adopted by the South African university presses shifted, becoming more liberal. It is argued, however, that the university presses should not be considered oppositional or anti-apartheid publishers, in part because they did not resist the censorship regime of the government, and in part because they operated within the constraints of publicly funded, bureaucratic institutions of higher education. They nonetheless produced an important, if under-valued, body of work and provided a platform for a variety of academic opinions. Moreover, the university presses faced a variety of challenges in their struggle to survive over the years, including financial pressures, international competition, and wavering institutional support. But perhaps the greatest challenge was a delicate balancing act: an attempt to promote academic freedom within a climate of political repression, censorship and ideology. The study demonstrates the significance of publishing history for an examination of broader issues of social history, as well as the applicability of a wide range of methodological tools for the field of Book History. Keywords: academic freedom, apartheid, censorship, knowledge production, oppositional publishing, scholarly publishing, self-censorship, social history, South Africa, university presses

3 Contents Tables and Figures... iv Abbreviations... v Acknowledgements... vi Chapter 1: Introduction Background Publishing and print culture Universities and the academic culture Repression, complicity and resistance Publishing studies and the neglect of university presses Aims of the study The research question Sub-questions Methodology Literature review Quantitative methodologies Historical bibliography Historical research and archives Qualitative methodologies Theoretical models Key concepts Benefits of the study Limitations of the study Overview of chapters Chapter 2: Literature review: The university press Current research on publishing and the university press in South Africa Publishing history Intellectual history Local university presses in the literature The Anglo-American university press model University press histories The first university presses The United States adaptation of the Oxford model The university press model in the Commonwealth Canada Australia and New Zealand India The university press in Africa Describing the Oxford model The intellectual role of university presses Conclusion i

4 Chapter 3: Origins and publishing philosophy of South Africa s university presses Higher education policies and politics Origins of the higher education sector Academic responses to apartheid Establishing the university presses The Oxford University Press influence South Africa s first university press: Wits University Press The University of Natal Press The University of South Africa Press University of Fort Hare Press University of Cape Town Press Why a university press? Conclusion Chapter 4: Academic freedom and opposition: Towards a methodology The legal environment: Censorship The universities and academic freedom Debating the definition of academic freedom The responsibility of the intellectual Scientific neutrality and the ivory tower Between resistance and collusion: A methodological approach Conceptualising the continuum Protest and resistance Compromise and complicity Cautious activism Self-censorship Depicting the continuum Application to publishing: The example of Oxford University Press Oppositional publishing in South Africa The international literature South African literature Mission-driven publishing Business models Authors and list-building Distribution and marketing Readership and impact Conclusion Chapter 5: Between complicity and resistance: Assessing the university presses shifting profiles Publishing profiles: A content analysis Methodology Publishing profiles Wits University Press University of Natal Press Unisa Press ii

5 5.2 Author diversity Author profiles Black authors Publishing struggle activists Gatekeeping practices Peer review Censorship Self-censorship Conclusion Chapter 6: The wider university and socio-political context Introduction Mission-driven publishing Identity and the university Business models and funding Subsidies and grants Sales List-building and diversity of output Service to the university Journals Distribution and reception Audience Distribution Marketing Reception and impact Co-publishing and collaboration Conclusion Chapter 7: Findings and conclusions Introduction Answering the research questions Origins and philosophy of the university presses The Oxford model Between resistance and complicity: The continuum Impact of the university presses Value of the study Recommendations Recommendations for the publishing industry Recommendations for further research Final conclusions Bibliography Appendices Appendix A: Publishing list, Wits University Press... See accompanying CD Appendix B: Publishing list, University of Natal Press... See accompanying CD Appendix C: Publishing list, Unisa Press... See accompanying CD iii

6 Tables and Figures Figure 1.1: The communications circuit of Darnton, Figure 1.2: The socio-economic model of Book History Figure 3.1: Title page of the first WUP book, Figure 3.2: Title page of the first UNP book, Figure 3.3: Title page of the first Unisa book, Figure 4.1: A continuum of intellectual response in the apartheid context Figure 4.2: An amplified continuum of intellectual response in the apartheid context Figure 5.1: Numbers of titles published per decade Figure 5.2: Author profile by race and gender, WUP Figure 5.3: Author profile by race and gender, UNP Figure 5.4: Author profile by race and gender, Unisa Press Figure 6.1: Changing colophon for WUP, c. 1970s, 1990s and 2000s Figure 6.2: Changing colophon for UNP, c. 1970s, 1980s and 2000s Figure 6.3: Changing colophon for Unisa Press, c. 1980s, 2000s Figure 6.4: Cover design of The Psychology of Déjà Vu Figure 6.5: Journals at Unisa, c. 1970s Figure 6.6: WUP advertisement, Figure 6.7: WUP advertisement, Figure 6.8: WUP advertisement, Table 5.1: Editorial Policies of University Presses in South Africa, Table 6.1: Sales from Bantu Treasury in terms of revenue and units sold, WUP iv

7 Abbreviations ANC AWA CUP FRP GIS IPASA ISBN NLSA NP OUP PASA PCB SABC SANB SPRO-CAS UCT UKZN UFH Unisa UNP VOC Wits WUP African National Congress African Writers Association Cambridge University Press field of restricted production geographical information systems Independent Publishers Association of South Africa international standard book number National Library of South Africa National Party Oxford University Press Publishers Association of South Africa Publications Control Board South African Broadcasting Corporation South African National Bibliography Study Project on South African Christianity in Apartheid Society University of Cape Town University of KwaZulu-Natal (formerly the University of Natal) University of Fort Hare University of South Africa University of Natal Press Dutch East India Company University of the Witwatersrand Witwatersrand University Press v

8 Acknowledgements I would like to begin by thanking my supervisor, Archie Dick, for his unstinting support throughout this study. His knowledge, wide reading and ability to pull together disparate strands of research proved invaluable, and I am deeply grateful for his expertise, kindness and passion. Thanks, Archie. Thanks must also go to Peter McDonald of Oxford University, as without his openness and willingness to discuss ideas, this research might never have got off the ground. He provided a spark during a SHARP conference in The other main intellectual sparks came from Pierre Hugo and the work of Nicholas Basbanes. Without the support of university archives, this research would not have been possible. I would thus like to thank the archivists at each of the institutions and key people at the university presses themselves: Manoko Mohale at the Wits Corporate Archives and Veronica Klipp of Wits University Press; Marie Coetzee at the Unisa Archives and Sharon Boshoff at Unisa Press; and Carol Davis at the UKZN archives in Pietermaritzburg as well as Debra Primo at UKZN Press. Philip Clarke, the Africana and Rare Books Librarian at Fort Hare University, and Thomas Jeffery at the National English Literary Museum, were helpful although they could not provide many additional archival sources. Thanks to the many other members of staff at the university presses and the former Publications Committee members who shared their memories and expertise with me. I would also like to thank DISA for access to the full electronic archive of the journal Theoria and Taylor & Francis for access to Bantu Studies, African Studies and English Studies in Africa. Thanks to David van der Merwe for his design expertise, in translating my (very wordy) ideas into clear, concise diagrams. Thanks, little brother. Thanks to Margaret and my mother for tea and a sympathetic ear, and to Steven and Juliette for being a welcome distraction. vi